Shane's Story
by Dana1
Summary: He was the most protected in his family, and it would cost him. Join Shane's journey from Survivor Series 2003 onward in a His Father's Son companion fic.
1. Prologue: Back to the Cabin

Title: Shane's Story

Author: Dana (Just me no one else). Rating: Hard to say. Safe bet would be PG

Warnings: It's mild. Most of the stuff takes place out of fic.

Summary: He was the most protected in his family, and it would cost him. Join Shane's journey from Survivor Series 2003 onward in a His Father's Son companion.

Author's note: It's not necessary to read His Father's Son, however this fic probably wouldn't make sense without it since it skips around a lot. There are heavy spoilers in the prologue for One Thing but nothing said outright.

Second Author's Note: First chapter has a part written by Juilet.

Disclaimer: I do not own all of the characters you've seen on TV. They belong to the companies that created them or themselves.

"Vince would never do anything to Shane and Linda. He made sure we all knew that. No one could touch them and he made double sure they stayed clueless. "

Shawn Michaels in His Father's Son

Shane walked into the cabin that he had called home for ten years. He had lived in the cabin with his wife, children, Chris Benoit, Owen Hart, and Michael and Tammy Erichson. He wondered how much longer they would have lived in that cabin if Daniel Benoit and Athena Hart hadn't stumbled onto the secret. Or in Danny's case, helped along to this by Eric Bischoff.

Eric...

Shane stopped that train of thought as he watched his nine-year-old daughter Andi and his seven-year-old son Wes ran into the cabin. It was their first time back in the cabin in over two years when they packed up and headed down to Atlanta for the trial.

Marissa came in and put a hand on Shane's left shoulder. "Feels weird to be back doesn't it?" She asked.

"Yeah." He walked over to the table and saw a piece of paper on it. He thought perhaps Chris and Danny had forgotten it when they were up there a few days ago. Shane went and picked it up. He read it and then balled it up. It was a copy of Danny's medical report. He didn't need to read it to know what it said. He and Danny had a long talk about what it meant and Shane told him to take as much time off as he needed before he decided what to do. He knew his brother-in-law, Paul Levesque, was probably glad to hear about that.

Had it only been two months ago that it had happened? The things that happened to Eric, Danny, Cassidy Austin, and himself would be hard to forget. Cassidy and he would be fine. Eric...he still couldn't bring himself to think about that. The scars Danny received not to mention a dream crushed by a group of hateful people.

A group his own father and sister had been a part of. His father had died in prison but his sister and brother-in-law had orchestrated everything from behind bars. It still made him sick.

Shane took the letter out of his pocket that the warden had sent him. He said the psychologist that Vince had been seeing said Vince wanted him to have it. Why it took him over a year to give it to Shane, he'd never know.

"I'm going outside to read this." Shane said to Marissa.

"Of course." She said. "I'm going to check up on the kids." Marissa said and walked further into the cabin.

Shane went outside and opened the letter.

Dear Shane,

Dr. Grunberg asked me to write a letter to you and your mother. He said it would be good therapy and that you wouldn't see the letter until after I had died.

You once asked me why I did it and I said revenge. You never asked me why I didn't do it to you. The reason is I loved you. I would never let anything happen to you or your mother. It's the reason I couldn't do it.

It's the reason I never allowed you or your mother to know what we were doing. Stephanie, Paul, Shawn, they are all like me. They could see the necessity to do what we did. Am I sorry? No.

That's why I kept pushing you out of the company after Bad Blood. Do you remember the day you came back after that RAW? You looked like you were going to fall apart. I told you to take time off. I then decided to get you out of the company by restarting WCW. You did a great job son and I'm proud.

Vince

Shane tucked the letter away and sat there looking at the woods. His mind started going back to memories of time past.

***

Notes: Okay the next chapter starts at Survivor Series 2003. I just wanted to give a feel of the fic. I hope to one-day work on One Thing again, and if you couldn't tell, something bad happened to Danny Eric in it. I just haven't gotten that far. Darn muses.


	2. Survivor Series 2003

Notes: This fic switches to Mick Foley's POV as it was written by Juliet 3:16 2000.

"Shane!" A familiar voice called as Shane McMahon walked into the Joe Louis Arena for Survivor Series.

Shane turned around to see Scott 'Raven' Levy standing behind him.

"Hey Scotty!" He called walking up to him. He hadn't really seen Raven since he had been fired a couple of years ago.

Scott grinned. "I was talking to Jarrett and he told me I'm going over in my match against Triple H. Honestly I thought I'd job in less then two minutes."

"I'm sure..." Shane started to say.

"Come on your dad said after hearing I was hired, "Who the hell hired Raven? I'm lucky I'm even on this card." He looked at his watch. "I need to get ready for my match. Let's talk later." He said and was gone.

Shane watched the man who had been his best friend at one time walk away. He looked around backstage and saw that most of the wrestlers were there. It was weird to see so many former WWE stars and wrestlers like Christopher Daniels who were wide known through the wrestling world as one of the top independent wrestlers in the US.

He also saw two wrestlers who had been absent from the WWE for a couple of months, Chris Benoit and Eddy Guerrero. Chris had been out due to a broken elbow he received during a match against Paul Wight. Eddy had been out due to suspension over possession of drugs and failing a drug test. He was pretty sure Eddy didn't have a match tonight but Chris had a match with Sting as one of the three main events.

He waved at them Chris returned the wave but Eddy seemed very distracted and didn't seem to notice.

Jim "JR" Ross was motioning him to come over and he did. "What's up Jim?" He asked.

"Can you talk to Steve Austin about the match tonight?"

Shane had a feeling that would come up tonight. He didn't spend as much time at the shows as the rest of his family but when he did go to the shows, he got the sense that a lot of the wrestlers were not comfortable with one of the main events that evening. The TNA Champion, Jeff Jarrett, vs. the WWE Champion Steve Austin in a Scaffold match. He had thought it was crazy also.

"He won't listen to me and I thought maybe if you talked to him he might listen to you."

"I'll try. I..." He trailed off when Vince came walking up to them.

"Excuse me Jim, I need to talk to Shane."

"Of course." Jim Ross said walking away to talk to Al Snow, Mike Tenay, and Don West about the commentary tonight.

"Shane I need your help tonight." Vince said as soon as JR had walked away. "We are a little short handed. The production people TNA brought are inadequate." Vince said with a scowl. "Can you help out in the truck tonight?"

"I guess." Shane said. It wasn't what he expected to be doing tonight but he was always willing to help out where needed.

He looked at his watch. It looked like he wouldn't have a chance to talk to Steve after all. The last time he had talked to Steve was a few weeks ago when Steve had talked about retiring from the sport.

"Great!" Vince said as he looked around backstage.

Shane thought his father seemed nervous which seemed strange to Shane because Vince always seemed to be collected.

"Yes. I need to talk to Ross." He said and walked away.

Shane decided to walk to the truck to see if he could be of assistance. He stopped for a moment to get a copy of the lineup from Johnny Ace.

The card read:

Raven vs. Triple H

Triple X vs. APA

AJ Styles vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.

Battle Royal

Shawn Michaels vs. Abyss

The Rock vs. Randy Orton

Sting vs. Chris Benoit

Scaffold Match for the WWE Title: Steve Austin vs. Jeff Jarrett

"Hey!" A voice called as Shane, who hadn't been paying attention to where he was going, ran into someone.

"Sorry Eddy." Shane said. "I wasn't paying attention. How are you doing?"

"Fine." Eddy said.

Shane was a little surprised by Eddy's answer. The man was sort of quiet, though not as quiet as Chris Benoit. "Crazy night back here." Shane continued. Eddy didn't respond. "I see you aren't on the card."

"I was supposed to be in the Battle Royal but that was changed."

"Shane!" Stephanie called coming up to them. "Dad said you were helping in the production truck." She said completely ignoring Eddy.

"Yeah. I..."

"Well you better hurry. Show's starting soon after all." She said and walked away.

Eddy muttered a few words in Spanish that surprised Shane but at the moment he thought they were accurate. Shane looked at his watch again and realized Stephanie was right. "I'll talk to you later Eddy." He said and walked away.

Shane walked into the truck and picked up a headset. Everyone looked at him expectantly. "Just tell me what you need me to do."

Everyone seemed to relax at that. Obviously they weren't sure what to make of the owner's son being in the truck.

Shane had to admit this was the most fun he had at a show in a long time. He enjoyed watching Raven win. He watched the young stars of TNA shine.

There were a few moments that made him shake his head such as during the Sting vs. Benoit match where Sting worked on Chris' left elbow. That was insane. This was Chris' first match since the match where he broke his elbow.

He sat there in absolute shock during the final match.

"No!" Everyone in the truck screamed at once.

"Cut the feed!" Kevin Dunn yelled. "Cut the feed!" The screens went black.

Shane threw the head set down and ran out of the truck. He couldn't get the image of Steve Austin falling off of the scaffold out of his head.

He tried to push past the wrestlers that were crowded around the Gorilla position.

"Out of the way!" One of the trainers that worked for the WWE, Chase Meridian, called as they wheeled Austin through the curtain. Shane could see the fans were standing. He stumbled when someone gave him a shove from behind.

"Go out there!" Shawn Michaels said.

"Me?" He looked around for his father.

"Yes you!" Shawn said pushing a mic into his hand.

"I've got it." Vince said. "Shane please head to the hospital and represent the company."

Shane nodded. He hadn't really wanted to go out there and address the fans. Not that he had a problem being out there but he just didn't want to. It didn't feel right for him to go out there.

He had been off camera for a long time. There had been talk earlier in the year for him to come back to defend Linda's honor in a series of matches with Kane but that was obviously didn't happen since Glenn had killed himself shortly after that stunt with Lawler had gone horribly wrong.

Shane once again pushed his way through the wrestlers and stopped in front of Chris Benoit who was clutching his elbow. He looked pale. Whether from the shock of watching Austin fall from the scaffold, or from the pain, Shane wasn't sure. "Come on Chris. I'll give you a ride to the hospital to have the elbow checked out."

"My elbow's fine." Chris protested.

"Look we can't afford to be down two wrestlers." He didn't want to even think about what kind of injuries Stave had suffered. "I'd feel better if you had it checked out."

Chris didn't protest. Jim Ross and the Rock joined them on the drive to the hospital. Shane left them in the Emergency Room as he went off in search of a doctor.

***

*Foley POV*

Mick Foley could not believe he was here. In a hospital. Waiting to hear if yet another friend lived or died.

Hours had passed since the tragic ending of Survivor Series and Mick could still not get the images out of his mind. Debra's screams of horror as they watched the aerial shot of Jarrett accidentally kicking Steve in the head and Steve's body plummeting was especially hard for Mick to erase. He could only be thankful that there had been no camera around the area where Steve fell. It had been deemed just too unsafe for cameras to be placed under and around the scaffold.

It had taken everything Mick had not to let Debra out of that locker room. Images of Owen Hart's body kept flashing through his mind has Debra struggled to try and get to where Steve was. Mick just did not think it was a good idea for either he or Debra to relieve that horrifying night Four and a half years earlier.

Even now, it took everything Mick had to try and ignore the parallels between Steve's accident and Owen's. He needed to try, if only for Debra's sake to keep the hope alive that Steve would be fine and all right. He did not want to think about what it could do to her if Steve died. He looked up and saw Chris Benoit and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson coming toward him.

"Any word?" Benoit asked, having gone to another doctor to get his elbow checked out after his match with Sting at Shane McMahon's urging. It seemed like nearly everybody from WWE as well as TNA had come to see how the Rattlesnake was doing.

Mick sighed. "No night yet. Shane's gone to find out anything. How's the elbow."

"Doc said it'll be all right," Benoit replied, flexing it some. "He said just to ice it down and it would be okay. I'd like to kill Helmsley though."

Johnson looked confused. "Helmsley? Why?"

Mick looked up wearily and answered for Benoit. "He was booking the match between him and Sting. Stinger told me that it was Helmsley's idea to work on Chris' elbow when I caught up with him."

"Geez, and I thought Vince could be psychopathic when it came to wrestler's safety. Then again Helmsley probably learned it from him." Dwayne snorted. Then he looked towards a single woman in a hospital chair. "How's she holding up?"

Mick looked over and if anything, his expression only got grimmer.

"Not good," he said simply.

Shane McMahon came around the corner and stopped at the large group of wrestlers assembled. Shane didn't say anything. Mick knew he didn't have too. The look on his face said it all and shattered Mick's heart into a million pieces.

"No" Debra whimpered, "no, not Steve..."

"Debra, I'm sorry," The WWE heir said softly, "the doctors said they did everything they could. He didn't make it."

"NO!" Debra raged, hitting the owner square in the chest. "IT'S NOT TRUE! HE'S NOT DEAD! HE'S NOT!"

"Debra" Mick had said softly trying to disengage her from attacking the oldest of Vince and Linda's two children.

"HE SAID HE WOULDN'T LEAVE ME! HE SAID IT WOULD WORK THIS TIME. HE'S NOT DEAD! HE WOULDN'T DO THIS TO ME! NO!

It took both Dwayne Johnson and Mick Foley to pry Debra off Shane McMahon. She had weakly pummeled Mick's chest repeatedly until she had simply collapsed to the floor in a ball of tears, her energy spent.

Everybody in the room was stunned silent. There wasn't a man in the room who had had some interaction with Steve Austin over the years that did not have tears in his eyes. Mick had looked across the room at Steve Borden who just turned away sadly. Mick was never sure, but he could have sworn he could have heard the sound of a fist hitting a wall.

It would take a long time for anybody to recover from this loss.


	3. Title Plans

Shane and Marissa McMahon walked their dog through Central Park. Shane was enjoying the time at home after the events of the past two weeks. Survivor Series was almost two weeks ago and Steve's funeral was a week ago. A few people stopped Shane for an autograph and Shane signed them but really wished he could be left alone.

Ring!

Shane's cellphone rang.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Shane it's me." Vince answered. "I need you at RAW on Monday."

"Why?" Shane asked. He was usually not asked this soon.

"Jim Ross has quit and I have promoted John Laurinaitis to his position. I will need your assistance especially with the Royal Rumble title match."

Shane knew that the December PPV had been cancelled. He also knew Vince wanted to get the title off of Jarrett quickly, who despite the booking, was both the WWE champion and the TNA champion.

"We'll be meeting with the Jarretts and Dixie Carter at RAW." Vince continued. "They are wanting to do another PPV from their venue. They said they want Jarrett to be able to defend his title before losing the title. Greedy..." He said and then muttered a few words Shane didn't quite here.

"I'll be there." Shane said thinking there really wasn't a reason not to be.

"Great." Vince said and they exchanged their goodbyes before hanging up.

"Where are you going to be?" Marissa asked Shane as soon as he hung up.

'RAW. Dad wants me to be at the show to help. I'm not completely sure with what at the moment though. The Jarretts and Dixie Carter will be at the show."

Marissa put a hand on his arm and squeezed it. They sat stood there a moment before they continued on their way.

***

Shane, Vince, Stephanie, Triple H, Dixie Carter, Jerry and Jeff Jarrett, were in a meeting room before RAW. Jeff sat there looking a little satisfied to be in this position.

"I still say we need to do a match at our year end PPV." Jerry Jarrett said. "Jeff should have at least one win before losing his title."

"Please." Stephanie said. "It's just a fluke that Jeff is even WWE Champion. You know that was an accident that Austin fell."

"Correct." Dixie conceded. "However, since he is also TNA champion, he should at least defend both titles at least once on our PPV."

Vince's eyes darkened. "Fine. I suppose we can give you that. However, Jeff will be dropping the title to Benoit at Royal Rumble."

Triple H made a choking noise. Shane turned to look at his brother-in-law who was looking a little pale.

"Dad," Stephanie said, "why not Hunter."

"He can have his match against Jeff at the TNA PPV." Vince said before turning back to the Jarretts.

Shane couldn't take his eyes off of his brother-in-law. He went from being really pale to being very angry. Shane was used to this from Hunter. He didn't keep his anger hidden.

The Jarretts looked at each other before nodding. "I think we have a deal." Dixie said.

"Great. Shane will be in charge of putting the Royal Rumble match." Vince said. "I'll let you and Hunter work out the match for the TNA PPV."

"Wait a minute. Shane is going to be putting the match together?" Stephanie asked in shock. "But he's not..."

"We will discuss that later." Vince said giving Stephanie a look. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to talk to John before the show." He said before walking out of the room.

Shane sat there feeling a little surprised by Vince's decision. He was booking the Royal Rumble match? He hadn't booked a match before. He was excited about it, as it would be something new for him to try. He was already getting ideas.

He left the room after agreeing to meet the Jarretts in early January to discuss the match. Everyone seemed pleased by the decisions except Hunter and Stephanie. Shane decided to talk to them about that later as Hunter started talking to Jeff about their match.


	4. Royal Rumble 2004

Shane walked into the meeting with plenty of ideas for the match between Jeff Jarrett and Chris Benoit at the Royal Rumble. Hunter and Jeff had their match a week earlier with another cross brand PPV though very few wrestlers from WWE were wanting to compete with TNA. They had matches between Christopher Daniels and Chris Benoit, Dudley Boys vs. X and Elix Skipper, and the main event match between Jarrett and Hunter.

He walked into a conference room at Titan Tower and saw he was the first one there. He set down his briefcase and opened it. He had two contracts for Jarrett and Benoit to sign and had a few papers of his notes.

Shane looked up when he heard the door open and saw Eric Bischoff enter the room.

"What are you doing here?" Shane asked.

"I was asked to sit in on this meeting." Eric said sitting in the seat farthest away from Shane and set a notepad on the table.

Shane looked at the other man wondering what he was talking about. As far as he knew, this was his meeting.

The next to arrive were the Jarretts. They took seats next to Eric. Chris came in last and he took a seat next to Chris.

The first thing Shane did was put the contracts down on the table. "I have a few ideas for this match. I see it as a regular match with Chris getting the clean pin."

"Sorry Shane that match is not going to work." Eric said.

"What do you mean?"

"The match idea won't work. I've discussed it with Hunter and it's going to be a ladder match."

Shane's jaw dropped. He had to be hearing wrong. Hunter had been in the meeting when Vince had asked him to book the match. Why would he go over his head?

Jeff snorted. "Your booking hasn't improved since I worked there I see."

"A ladder match is a bad idea so soon after Survivor Series."

"Not much you can do about it." Eric said pulling something out of his jacket and placed two pieces of paper on the desk. Shane was pretty sure they were contracts as he had almost the same thing on his desk.

He looked at Chris who didn't look any happier.

Chris reached across the table and grabbed one of the pieces of paper. It was in fact a contract. He read it and saw that it indeed had the ladder match as the match's stipulation and that Chris would win. He read it and made sure there weren't any other hidden surprises.

"Fine." Shane said after a pause. "But this is a normal ladder match without any bumps or high spots. Clean match no interference. The fans won't want anything else."

Chris nodded his agreement.

Jeff looked a little unsure but he wasn't the one who spoke.

"I don't think that will go over with Helmsley." Eric said.

"It doesn't matter what he thinks. There is nothing in this contract that says what kind of match it will be." Shane said and handed the contract to Chris as Jeff took the remaining contract from Eric.

Both signed it.

Eric took the pieces of paper and shot Shane a look, which he ignored.

The Jarretts left the room right behind Eric.

Shane stopped Chris as he got up.

"Chris I'm sorry." He said.

"I know it wasn't your idea." Chris said. "But you're right. It has to be clean." He said and left the room.

***

"You have got to be kidding me!" Shane said the night of Royal Rumble. "Hunter everyone agreed to no interference!"

"Shane you are new at booking. It doesn't matter what the fans want it matters what makes sense storyline wise."

"It's my match to book Hunter and you can't step in and change it."

"Actually I can. But then again you don't know anything."

Shane glared at his brother-in-law before walking away. He still couldn't believe that Hunter had gone over him and changed the match ending with JBL helping Chris win the match and then attack him after the match.

Didn't Hunter have any idea what would happen? Sure he didn't usually book matches, but it was a feeling he had in the pit of his stomach that an interference in the match would upset the fans.

Shane went to his father's office and entered.

Vince was adjusting his tie, as he would have a segment during the show.

"Vince the ladder match is going to end with interference."

"So? Sounds like a fine match ending Shane. I thought you would do well with booking."

"No you don't understand. I chose the ending to be clean. If Bradshaw interferes, the fans will be upset."

"It makes perfect sense to have John interfere. He's going to be starting an angle with Benoit that will lead to No Way Out. John will be doing it in Austin's honor though he'll lose the match."

"When you asked me to book the match I assumed I would have complete control of the match. Including ending. I didn't say anything when it was changed to a ladder match, but I'm saying to leave the ending as it was originally done."

Vince looked at him for the longest time and then smiled. "I knew you would do well with booking the match. Fine Shane I will go tell Hunter that the original match ending stays. You have made your point."

"Thank you." Shane said and left his office. He walked down the hall and found Benoit talking to Eddy.

"I just talked to my father and the original match ending is going to happen."

"Good." Chris said giving him a smile.

Shane went searching for Jarrett but wasn't successful in finding him before the match. He figured he would find out before the match.

***

Shane was sitting in the Gorilla Position during the ladder match. It was the match right before Royal Rumble where JBL would win. He had a headset on and was listening to the production truck. He would have a way of talking to the ref this way.

He watched and could hear the fans cheers throughout the match. Everything was going as planned and he said into the headset, "go home."

Suddenly someone on the monitor caught his attention. He jumped to his feet.

"What the heck?" Shane asked no one in particular as he watched JBL jump over the guardrail and interfere in the match. He knocked Jarrett out with his own guitar and rolled out of the ring.

The fans were booing and throwing things at JBL.

"That's not good." Laurinitis said from next to him.

Chris got the title and a cheer rose but fans were still pelting JBL with garbage.

"Someone get JBL out of there." A voice was saying next to him. He didn't really notice who it was. He just threw the headset down.

He knew something would happen.

He also knew whom to blame.


	5. Aftershocks

Shane was mad. Everyone backstage could see it. Shane to most of them always seemed to be in a good mood when he was at the shows. The only time they saw the look on his face at the moment was when he was a heel.

Shane walked up to where Hunter, Stephanie, and Eric Bischoff were all talking. Hunter would go out as #30 and right now they were only ten minutes into the Royal Rumble match. Shawn wasn't

"What was that about?" Shane demanded.

"What was what about?" Hunter said turning to face his brother-in-law.

"You went over me and had the match end with interference."

"So?" Hunter asked. "It was a good ending."

"The ending was wrong! You saw the fans. They were throwing things at John. They wanted a clean ending."

"No they didn't. They don't know what they want. You can't listen to the fans every time. Look Shane you were brought in for one match. You don't know how to look at the bigger picture. If John hadn't interfered, there would be no build up."

"It could have been done differently!"

"Shut up Shane!" Stephanie yelled at her brother surprising him. "You are not as perfect as everyone thinks you are!"

Shane couldn't think of a reply. Eric just shook his head with a slight smirk on his face.

"Look Shane, I have to go out there in a few minutes. We can discuss this later." Hunter said and turned away from him.

Shane stomped off.

***

After the blowup at Royal Rumble, Shane stayed away from the shows and mostly worked on International shows. However, it didn't mean he wasn't watching the shows every week.

He watched as the storyline leading up to No Way Out spun out of control. He wasn't sure whose idea it was to have John do it in Steve's honor but the fans weren't buying it. It should have made JBL a face, but that didn't seem to work since Chris was the face. He didn't quite understand the storyline and he was pretty sure most of the fans didn't either.

He and Marissa went to No Way Out at the Cow Palace just to watch the show. Shane decided to watch it from the audience instead of backstage. Shane wore a hat and sunglasses and sat on the side with the cameras to avoid being shown a lot.

He was happy that no one asked him for an autograph as they were watching the show and didn't notice them or if they did, probably thought they were seeing things.

Shane thought the show was good and was happy to see that Benoit beat John clean.

John must have seen Shane in the audience because as he was walking back to the back, he said, "this fucking sucks and you know it."

Marissa grabbed his hand as they stood up and made their way to the back.

Shane almost started laughing when security stopped them and asked for their backstage passes.

Shane took his sunglasses and hat off.

"Sorry Shane." The guard said and let them through.

"I need to talk to the guys." Shane said still thinking about what John had said when he walked by. He had a point and there was no denying it. It did suck. All that buildup for the match and it just fizzled out in one night. Well, the match ending worked but the buildup with John doing it in Steve's honor fizzled out quickly.

He found almost everyone in the locker room.

"I just wanted to apologize to everyone." Shane started.

"For what?" Randy Orton asked.

"For the angles that have been happening in WWE. Look none of it was my idea but I still feel like someone should apologize." He turned to Layfield who was packing his things. "You were right. It did suck."

John just nodded.

"Look Shane," Ric said. "You don't have to apologize to us. You aren't the one putting this shit together."

Shane smiled gratefully at the older man.

Everyone added his or her agreement.

Shane felt better as he left the locker room.

He was ready to stay completely out of the sport for a while.


	6. Meeting

"You have got to be kidding." Stephanie said as she sat down at a secluded table with her husband at the hotel bar. There was a basketball game playing on the wide screen television. "He didn't actually do that did he?"

"Randy told me. I guess Shane and Marissa were sitting in the audience watching the show. Shane came to the back and apologized for the booking." Hunter snorted. "I wouldn't have minded seeing that."

"I know." Stephanie said with a grin. "Though I don't know what's up with Shane. I mean he refuses to go to the shows and all of a sudden he's here apologizing? Sometimes I don't know how we are related."

Hunter just shook his head but his eyes were sparkling with amusement before taking a swig of his beer. He sat back and watched the basketball game that was on TV.

Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton came in and sat at the table.

"Who's winning?" Randy asked.

"Houston." Hunter said after looking at the score. "We just got here."

"Hunter was telling me about how Shane came into the locker room and apologized for the storylines."

"Oh yeah." Randy said with a smirk. "I barely kept from laughing but everyone else in the locker room ate it up."

"Of course they do." Shawn said bitterly. "Everyone likes Shane."

"We've got that meeting with dad and the writers concerning Wrestlemania on Tuesday." Stephanie said. "He even said Shane would be there. Shane! It's not like he does anything in the company. I don't know why dad keeps including him in business matters."

"It's because he needs to learn this." Vince said joining them.

"For what?" Hunter asked. "He's in charge of the internet and international shows. He doesn't need to know how to book a match. That's what Stephanie and I are for."

"He needs to know as this is a family business." Vince said his face starting to turn red. "He's a member of this family and will be needing to know more about how the company works in the future."

"Why? Are you planning to give him the company?" Stephanie said barely hiding her disgust."

"What I'm planning is none of your business." Vince said. "You have nothing to worry about from your brother." He started to turn away. "Hunter and Stephanie I expect you in my office for the meeting." He said and left.

***

Shane McMahon tried to not look annoyed as he stood waiting for the meeting to start. They were discussing the main event at WrestleMania, which still hadn't been decided.

He wasn't completely certain why he was here. Though it seemed his dad seemed to be getting him more and more involved with the company. More then he wanted to be at times. However, if Royal Rumble was any example, he really had no say in anything.

He turned and smiled at Chris Benoit who had just entered the room. The world title slung over his shoulder.

Hunter and Stephanie came in not long after that but neither looked surprised to see Shane in the meeting.

Shane looked at his watch. The meeting was supposed to start five minutes ago. His dad was always punctual and he wondered what was taking him.

No one said anything while they waited.

Finally Vince came in looking a little frazzled. He set his briefcase on the table before turning his attention to the others in the room.

"The re-match we had talked about at the PPV won't be happening." He said. "Layfield has decided not to renew his contract."

No surprise. Shane thought. JBL certainly had never been happy with the storyline leading up to his match with Chris Benoit at No Way Out. Not that he could blame him. The whole idea of JBL doing it Austin's honor had been a bad idea. He would have spoken up about it but he knew his opinion really didn't mean anything, which he had learned after Royal Rumble when he said they needed to do a clean match. He knew any other kind of match would make the fans mad. He had been right.

"I say it should be me against Benoit for the title." Triple H spoke up.

"Paul we've discussed this. Your match with Michaels is still going to happen."

"How about Eddy Guerrero?" Shane suggested. The look on his father's face told him that was the wrong suggestion.

"No not Guerrero." Vince said. He turned to Chris. "You have any suggestions Chris?"

"How about Flair?"

Vince seemed to contemplate that choice. "I like it." Vince said nodding.

"But..." Hunter started to say but stopped. He flashed Chris a glare and then turned and left the room.

"We'll start the plans for the main event starting tonight." Vince said. The meeting soon ended.

Shane started to leave when Vince called after him.  
"Shane wait a second."

Shane stopped and turned to face his father.

"I thought you suggestion was good, but Eddy's not ready to headline a WrestleMania."

"Yeah I guess." Shane said and started to leave.

"Shane I asked you to come to the meeting for another reason. I want you to head up the re-opening of the World. I want it ready to open in time for Bad Blood."

"Okay." Shane said sounding unsure. He was being put in charge of re-opening the nightclub? Things were really getting strange around here.


	7. Watching from a Distance

Shane took a long look around the World. Everything looked ready for the grand opening. All of the wrestlers were sitting at tables talking amongst themselves. In ten minutes the doors to the night club would open and fans would pour in for the first time in several years.

"We ready?" Marissa asked from behind him. He was glad she had come with him. She had been a great help to him while he worked on getting the World up and running again. She had made phone calls and made sure all of the permits were filed. At times he wasn't sure he would have been able to pull this off without her help.

"I think so." Shane said and then covered his mouth when he was about to yawn. He had gotten very little sleep the past couple of nights and it was catching up to him.

"You know Shane," she said resting a hand on his shoulder, "there are a few offices in the back. I even saw one with a couch. If you want to take a nap, we can handle things out here."

Shane was ready to disagree with her when he let out another yawn. Shane felt as if he would fall over at any moment. "Maybe for a few minutes," he said grudgingly. "Wake me if anything comes up."

"I will." Marissa said with a smile. "Now get some sleep."

***

Halfway through the PPV, Dean Malenko started to grow restless. Since his retirement from the sport, he had been working as a Road Agent for the WWE. He wasn't really sure why he was asked to be at the World tonight. There were quite a few WWE wrestlers there. Most of whom would have preferred to be in Atlanta Georgia at Bad Blood. Some of them had a reason for not being on the PPV such as Matt Hardy.

Matt had been 'injured' during a match where he and his brother Jeff were feuding with Batista and Ric Flair over the tag titles. Evolution had 'broken' Matt's ribs on Smackdown. He was supposedly here at the World convelesing. Dean really wasn't sure how many people would believe that as he had heard Michael Cole say Matt had been in the hospital until this morning but who was Dean to argue with the writers?

He walked over and sat down with Matt and his wife Amy, who wrestled as Lita. The match on the screen was the handicap match of Ric and Batista vs. Jeff. Jeff had declined selecting a partner to add drama to the match.

Matt reached for his mug of beer making a showing of cradling the ribs as he did so. "I wish I was there." He said. He lowered his voice. "I hate this angle I'm in. I'm constantly being beat up every week."

Amy laid a hand on her husband's hand. "Things will get better," she said trying to sound reassuring. She knew how hard all of this was for Matt. She knew he felt like he was going nowhere. She sometimes felt the same about her own career.

"Thanks Amy," Matt said with a smile. He turned his attention to Dean. "Do you like being an Agent?"

"I do. It keeps me in wrestling. It gives me an opportunity to have an active role off camera."

"When I first got into wrestling, I was running my own wrestling companies. I was booking shows, writing, and making some of the costumes. I'm living my dream right now but I don't know if I'm going to be wrestling in ten years. It's almost a joke in the locker room that you have a better chance of dying then retiring. I don't want to meet that fate." He took Amy's hand. "We want to start a family."

Dean gave a small smile. He had two kids himself and knew what Matt was saying.

He excused himself as fans surrounded the table wanting Matt and Amy's autographs and pictures. The former wrestler was almost forgotten as he made his way through the night club. He noticed quite a few of the fans and wrestlers were already drunk. The bouncers were moving through the club. Dean walked past them and to the back. He opened one of the doors and saw Shane McMahon asleep on the couch. He took a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs and picked up a copy of the Wall Street Journal.

Ten minutes later he was so engrossed in his newspaper he didn't notice Shane was awake.

"Was I supposed to meet you?" Shane asked drowsily.

"No I just wanted some quiet."

"Me too. I'm so tired. Marissa suggested I take a nap." He looked at his watch. "I didn't mean to sleep this long though," he said before standing up, "the main event should be just starting." He said and walked out of the room with Dean following him.

Bill Goldberg's music had just started playing. The fans in the club started booing. Dean grinned. He always liked New York City fans. He knew Chris was dropping the title tonight, but Chris was okay with it. He was going to take a little time off and spend it with his family. Vince had told him they would get the title back on him around Survivor Series or the December Pay Per View. He wished his other best friend, Eddy Guerrero, was having Chris' luck.

It had been a year since Eddy had failed the drug test and Vince seemed to still be holding a grudge against him as Eddy hadn't been in any real feuds or angles. Chris had told him and made him promise not to tell Eddy that Vince had shot down the match of Eddy Vs Chris at Wrestlemania saying Eddy wasn't main event material.

Chris came out and the fans in Atlanta and New York erupted in cheers. The camera followed Chris make his way down to ringside stopping to hug his wife Nancy and his stepdaughter Tatem before going into the ring.

The match was good with Chris doing a lot of the selling in the match. Dean, like many others he had talked to, were worried about the match. Bill Goldberg was known for hurting others in the ring. He had, after all, ended Bret Hart's career back in 1999.

The ending came. Bill held Chris in position as he prepared for the power bomb. It wasn't Bill's normal finisher, but, according to Chris they wanted to go for a different ending that would allow him to take time off.

"That doesn't look right." Trish Stratus said from next to him.

Dean's eyes got huge as he saw what the Canadian had seen. Goldberg had the hold locked in wrong. Chris was going to get seriously hurt if Bill didn't correct the position. Chris was lifted up a little higher and then dropped. The sound of Chris hitting the mat sent a shiver down his spine.

The screens went black. Two words appeared on the screen that said signal lost.

The fans started booing. Dean turned to Shane who's face was white as a sheet most likely thinking the same thing he was. Something was wrong. WWE wouldn't have pulled the feed if it wasn't.

The monitor came on with previews for upcoming PPVs. It was obvious that the show was over. Shane walked into the middle of the room. The fans took a few minutes to turn their attention to the heir apparent and that was when the questions starting coming out as a jumbled mess. Shane tried to answer as many questions as he could. His cellphone rang interrupting him. He stepped away to answer it.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Shane?" John Laurenitis asked.

"Yes?" Shane asked feeling a little worried. This couldn't be good if the man in charge of Talent Relations was calling.

"Shane I was asked to pass this along to you so you can tell the wrestlers at the world. Chris Benoit," he said his voice starting to shake. Shane's heart dropped into his stomach already anticipating what John was going to tell him. "Chris," he started again, "died."

Shane dropped his cellphone. He had been hoping that the news would be something else such as Chris had been seriously injured, not that he was dead.

Dean picked up the phone and started talking to John.

Shane cleared his throat. "I have news concerning Chris Benoit." The club became quiet. "Chris Benoit has died." There was a collective gasp and a sob from someone toward the back of the club. Marissa came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. He turned slightly and saw Dean as pale as a ghost as he obviously heard what John had to say. Shane went and sat down in a chair still feeling absolutely shocked.

Dean went over and handed Shane his cellphone. He was also in shock. His best friend was dead. Murdered in the middle of the ring. What had Matt said earlier? They had a better chance of dying then retiring? That never rang truer until tonight.


	8. Columbus Part 1

Shane was awoken the next morning by a ringing telephone. He answered it before it woke up Marissa.

"Hello?" He asked as he walked out of the bedroom.

'Shane it's me," Vince answered.

"What's up?" Shane asked barely holding back a yawn. Shane hadn't returned home from The World until nearly 2 AM. There had been so many questions he had to answer. Many of the questions he didn't have an answer to.

"I need you in Columbus Georgia for the Benoit Memorial Show. I don't need you to plan it, I have asked Eddy Guerrero to take care of that. I need you there to represent the family. As you know, your mother and I will be at a conference which is why we moved Bad Blood to Saturday. Stephanie and Hunter are also unavailable."

"I was planning to go to the show anyway."

"Great. Let Eddy plan the complete show. I think he'll do a good job. I need to go." He said and hung up.

He went back to bed and laid down. He had a hard time falling back to sleep. His mind was racing. He got out of bed and logged onto his laptop and went to the travel site he used when he needed to book an airplane ticket. He found a flight leaving at 10:59 AM from La Guardia where he would land in Columbus Georgia at 4:49 PM. There was only one stop in Atlanta. He was about to select the payment method but stopped when he noticed Marissa was awake.

"Vince called earlier to ask me to go to RAW in Columbus Georgia. I found a flight that leaves today. Do you want to go with me?"

"Yes," She said getting up. "When are we leaving?"

Shane told her the time. She started packing things in a suitcase as Shane submitted the order.

They finished packing and still had a little bit of time before they had to leave for the airport. They had a quick breakfast and discussed their upcoming trip to Italy.

Shane's cell rang. He looked at the caller ID and didn't recognize the phone number. "Hello?"

"Shane it's Eddy Guerrero. Vince called and told me to contact you if I need anything for the show tomorrow."

"I'm actually leaving today. I'll be in Columbus around 5. We can discuss the show then. Is there something you need now?"

"Actually no. I have some of the show put together already. Shane Douglas has agreed to come in for the show to wrestle Flair. That might not happen as Shane is having a hard time finding a flight."

"I could have the corporate jet pick him up. I would have used it today but my parents are using it to fly to a conference."

There was a pause. "I'll let Shane know that's an option. There was a reason I called. A lot of the wrestlers I've talked to have said they are going to boycott Smackdown."

This information didn't completely surprise Shane. A lot of the wrestlers at The World were upset last night.

"I bet. I'll see what I can do about that," he cast a look at the time and frowned. "Look Eddy, I'll see you later. Marissa and I need to get to the airport."

"I probably won't see you until Monday. I've got...some things to do before I head to Columbus. Lots of wrestlers to call and stuff. God I don't know if I can do this." Eddy said so quietly Shane wasn't sure he heard him. "Bye Shane." He said and hung up.

Shane hit end and sat there for a moment. He couldn't even imagine what Eddy was going through. Eddy and Chris had been best friends. He knew he wouldn't forget the look on Dean's face when John told him that Chris had died.

"Shane we really should go," Marissa said coming over to him and laying a hand on his shoulder. I've already called the concierge and he has a cab waiting for us."

"Good," Shane said as he took the handle of their suitcase. Marissa took the laptop case and her backpack that she was going to carry anything else they would need in the carry on.

They took the elevator down to the lobby of their apartment building and then got into the cab. Neither said much on the ride to the airport.

Later that night after Shane and Marissa had settled into their hotel room at Candlewood Suites, Shane called Vince.

"Dad you need to make things right," was what Shane said as soon as Vince had answered the phone. "A lot of wrestlers are going to boycott Smackdown. I talked to a few wrestlers that were demanding their release from their contracts saying if they weren't released they would sue the company for a dangerous work environment."

Vince sighed. "They are wrestlers. Of course it's a dangerous work environment!"

Shane rolled his eyes. "No I mean after what happened to Chris last night..."

"That was an accident." There was a pause. "But you are right. We need to do something for the wrestlers that aren't happy. I'm going to think about what will be the best solution for the company and the wrestlers and I will call you back. It probably won't be until tomorrow, but I promise it will be before RAW. I have to go Shane. Your mother and I are going to grab something to eat before the first meeting tonight. Good luck with the show tomorrow." Vince said and hung up.

Shane sat back on the hotel bed. Marissa was in the shower and they planned to call for room service after Marissa was finished in the shower. He picked up the remote control and started flipping through the channels.

A local station caught his attention. They were interviewing a couple of people in front of the Phillips Arena.

"I was totally there," one man in his early twenties said to the reporter. "In fact I was sitting right behind Woman and the girl who I guess was her daughter? I don't know I didn't ask. She even gave me her autograph. Woman that is. She really freaked out when Benoit was dropped in that power bomb I'm no wrestler, but it looked like Goldberg meant to do the power bomb that way. I hope they lock him up and throw away the key!"

"I totally agree," a man slightly older then first said to the camera. "The whole McMahon family should be held responsible for hiring the guy."

Shane quickly changed the channel. He wasn't in the mood to hear this. Not now anyway. He had to do quite a bit of channel changing before he found something that wasn't the news. He found an old rerun of Friends.

Marissa came into the room towel drying her hair. "I heard part of what that guy said." She said sitting on the edge of the bed. "They are just angry."

Shane sighed, "yeah." he said getting up from the bed. He went over to the desk and picked up the binder that held the room service menu. He allowed Marissa to look at it first.

"I talked to Vince while you were in the shower," he said. "I told him what I heard from the wrestlers about their future plans for the WWF. He said he's going to think about it and he'll contact me before the show."

"Well that's good at least," Marissa said as she handed him the room service menu. " I mean at least he's thinking about it."

"I just hope he realizes what will happen if he doesn't do anything." Shane said as he picked up the phone to place an order for room service.


	9. Columbus Part 2

The next day was a somber one. Everyone who came to the show was much quieter then they usually were which was not surprising considering what happened just two days before.

Shane had just gotten himself and Marissa coffee when his cellphone rang.

"Hello?"

"Shane it's me," Vince answered. "I have given a lot of thought about what you said yesterday. I have spoken to the attorneys and we have decided to grant unconditional releases to everyone who wishes to leave."

Shane was quite surprised by this. He never thought Vfince would do this for the wrestlers. "That's great dad."

"I'll need you to get a list of the wrestlers that are there that want out of their contracts."

"Sure no problem. I'll talk to you after the show." He said and hung up.

"Good news?" Marissa asked as she walked up to him. She took the coffee that he offered her.

"Great news. Vince is offering unconditional releases to everyone. I think that will make everyone happy." He took a long sip of his coffee. It was going to be a long day.

"Hey Shane," James Caldwell, who worked in production, said coming coming up to him. "Eddy's not here yet so I thought it would be best to ask you. Some of the wrestlers are asking where we will be taping the testimonials."

Shane looked around backstage. There was a small room that would most likely not be used. "We could probably use that one," he said pointing at the room.

"Looks like the best choice," James said. "I'll start setting it up." He said and walked away.

Shane's phone rang again. "Hello?"

"Shane it's Shane Douglas. I just wanted to let you know that I will be there in time for the show. My wife's with me. Can you see if you can get her a ticket and a backstage pass?"

"Sure no problem. She can sit with Marissa. I'll let Eddy know you are on the way." Shane said and hung up. He turned to Marissa. "Carla Douglas is coming to the show," he explained.

"That's good," Marissa said. "I know you have a lot to do tonight, so I'm going to leave you to your work," she said before kissing him. She walked away.

Shane looked around backstage trying to see who he should start with. He found Rey Mysterio Jr. talking to Chavo Guerrero Jr. He walked up to them.

"Hey Shane," Chavo said. "I didn't know you were going to be here tonight."

"Vince asked me to come and I would have been here anyway. Chris was a good friend."

"Yeah," Rey said quietly. They were silent for a moment as they all seemed to be thinking about Chris.

Shane broke the silence. "I talked to Vince earlier and he is offering unconditional releases to anyone who wants out of their contract."

"Better put me and Eddy both down," Chavo said, "I know he's not here but I know he'll be wanting out."

"How's he doing?" Rey asked. "I haven't talked to him since Friday."

"Not well. I don't know how he pulled this show together so quickly. I haven't seen him since Saturday but I talked to Vickie. She said he's trying to deal with it in his own way. Eddy and Chris were as close as brothers."

Shane searched his pockets for a piece of paper but he didn't have any. "I'll be right back," Shane said. He walked over to John Laurenitis who was talking to Michael Cole. They were standing in front of the computer that was used to print out the booking sheets and other papers that were needed for the shows. He grabbed several sheets and then located a clipboard. He walked over to Rey and Chavo. He handed the clipboard to Chavo.

Chavo signed his name. He then handed the clipboard to Rey who shook his head.

"I'm not sure yet. When do you need to know by?"

"I don't know. Try to let me know soon though."

"Hey," a familiar voice said from behind them. They turned to see Matt Hardy. "You guys seen Eddy yet?"

"Not yet," Chavo said. "He's been in Atlanta. I think he's been trying to help Nancy."

"I wanted to ask him about the match tonight. Edge refused to do the show so that kind of scraps the match Jeff and I were going to do with him and Jericho."

"Yeah there have been a lot of last minute cancellations," John Laurenitis said overhearing the conversation. Christian's here so you guys could always wrestle those two I guess."

"Christian's not here," Amy said. "He boycotted the show also."

"I thought I saw..." John trailed off. "This whole weekend has been crazy. I don't know. Eddy'll figure something out when he gets here."

"While you guys are here," Shane said deciding to change the subject. "Vince is offering everyone unconditional releases from their contracts."

Matt exchanged looks with Amy. "We'll have to talk about it." Matt said. "Put us down with a question mark. I want to talk to Jeff about it."

"No problem but let me know soon."

Shane went around and talked to everyone that was currently on the roster. A lot of the wrestlers signed the sheet. A lot more then people who didn't. Vince would not be very happy.

"Sorry I'm late Shane," Eddy said coming up to him. "Traffic was awful."

Shane tried not to look at his watch but he knew it was almost 5:00. The show would start in 4 hours and there was a lot of stuff left to do. Shane was not going to mention this as he knew Eddy was grieving and was probably having a hard time even being there much less organizing the show.

Shane took a good look at the older man then. He was pale and had circles under his eyes. He didn't look like he had slept in days but that was understandable.

"No problem Eddy. I spoke with Shane Douglas and he'll be here for the show which is the good news. The bad news is Edge and Christian have both boycotted the show. So there's a problem with a couple of the matches."

"I'll take care of it." Eddy said with a sigh pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Vince is offering unconditional releases for anyone who wants to leave the company. Chavo was sure you'd want to leave but I still need you to sign the paper."

"Sure," Eddy said and signed the paper. He gave the list a quick glance. Once name in particular made him stop. "Why is your name on the list."

"Huh?"

"Your name's on the list Shane," Eddy said looking at Shane with a indecipherable look.

"Let me see," Shane said taking the clipboard from him. Sure enough someone had signed his name. "It's someone's idea of a joke. I didn't sign it."

"Take your name off of the list."

"It's no big deal Eddy. It's not like I actually work for the company," he tried to joke.

"Just take your name off of the list," Eddy said again. There was something about Eddy's voice that made Shane quickly scratch his name off of the list.

"Whoa Eddy I know you are going through a lot," Chavo said placing a hand on his Uncle's shoulder, "but you need to chill out."

Eddy sighed. "I'm sorry Shane. I'm just...it's just been a long couple of days. I still can't believe we are here doing this." He wiped away the tears that were threatening to fall. "I better go talk to everyone about tonight. Seems we still have a lot to do."

Shane watched him go. He really didn't know how Eddy was able to be here at all.

* * *

The rest of the evening was as crazy as the beginning. The wrestlers spent the couple of hours before the show planning out their matches and taping testimonials. The backstage was very somber as were the fans who entered the arena. By the start of the show, Shane's clipboard was filled with names and they weren't all wrestlers. Vince was definitely not going to be happy when he saw it.

Shane nearly broke down when he led everyone out to the ring. He stood in the middle of the ring with Eddy, Ric Flair, Dean Malenko, and a few others that had been very close to Chris.

He waited until all of the fans had quieted down before he spoke. "Two days ago there was a horrible accident in the ring and Chris Benoit died."

There was a loud Benoit chant.

"Tonight is dedicated to him. I wish to extend my condolences to his wife Nancy, his children, and all of his family and friends." He handed the mic over to Eddy.

Eddy closed his eyes for a moment before he spoke. "Chris was my best friend and I think he'll enjoy what we have planned for tonight. The matches and interviews you will see are all heartfelt and..." his voice trailed off. "You'll see how much much Chris meant to all of us." He nodded to the timekeeper who did a ten bell salute.

After the ten bell salute ended a video tribute to the song One Sweet Day started. There was not a dry eye in the building. They all went backstage.

Shane let Eddy do everything and he did a great job. The show went off without a hitch. During the Douglas/Flair match, Shane saw a sign that said: Goldberg is a Murderer. Other then that, the signs were tasteful.

Eddy sank into a chair at the end of the show. All of the tension seemed to drain out of his body. The night was over.

Shane went over to him. "The show went well. I think Chris would have approved. How did you convince Douglas to wrestle Flair?"

"He felt guilty about what happened to his friendship with Chris and wanted to do the show. It was actually his idea to wrestle Flair."

"It was not," Douglas said joining them. "You bribed me to wrestle by saying Flair was going to be here." He was still feeling the adrenalin rush after the match. Even though he had lost the match, he had shaken Flair's hand and the fans had erupted.

Eddy Chuckled weakly. "You got me there holmes. I'm just glad tonight's over."

"I think everyone is Shane McMahon said as he watched the others backstage. They all looked tired but relieved which was how Shane felt. He was glad he didn't have to supervise shows on a regular basis.

This weekend showed him wrestling was not for him. He was ready to just drop completely out of wrestling. He wasn't sure what his father would think about that but he supposed he'd find out.


	10. Departure

Shane McMahon felt a little uneasy as he followed his sister and brother-in-law into the Benoit home. They had all sat in the back of the church during the funeral not and stood in the back during the burial.

He held Marissa's hand as they walked into the foyer which was crowded with people. A young girl came over and took their jackets. He had met her before. It was Nancy's daughter Tatem.

"Thanks Tatem," Shane said as he and Marissa handed her their jackets.

She didn't say anything as she walked away.

"Poor kid was in the audience," Stephanie said in a whisper to Shane and Marissa.

Shane nodded. He remembered seeing Nancy and Tatem in the audience.

"Excuse me," Nancy said coming up to them. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Shane looked at Nancy. "I'm sorry I didn't know it was for family only..." he said his voice trailing off.

"No Shane you are okay. I'm talking about you two," she said looking at Stephanie and Hunter. "This was your fault! You booked Chris in a match with a guy who ended people's careers!"

"You can't be serious," Hunter said. "We are here paying our respects. What happened to Chris was an accident. I liked Chris. Everyone did."

Eddy Guerrero came up to them. "Is there a problem?"

"I asked Hunter and Stephanie to leave." Nancy said her face turning red.

"Momma?" Little Daniel Benoit said coming up to her.

"Go find Tatem," she instructed her youngest gently.

"I agree with Nancy," Eddy said. "You should leave. You are upsetting everyone."

"Fine we'll leave," Hunter said glaring at Eddy. "We need our coats first." He said handing her the small piece of paper that Tatem had handed them to keep the coats straight.

"I'll go get them," Nancy said and left. She came back a few moments later.

"We need our coats also," Shane said handing her the piece of paper.

"Shane you and Marissa don't have to leave," Nancy said.

"We do," Shane said. "We came with Hunter and Stephanie. I'm really sorry for your loss Nancy. Chris was a good man."

"Thank you," She said and then went to get their jackets.

"If you want to stay Shane, someone can give you guys a ride back to your hotel," Eddy offered.

"No it probably would be better if we went," Shane said as he looked back to where Hunter and Stephanie stood waiting.

Marissa hugged Nancy and then she and Shane left. No one spoke on the ride back to the hotel but it was evident that Hunter was not happy.

* * *

Two days later, Shane sat in his office with his eyes closed listening to his office phone ring. He did not want to answer it. He hoped whoever it was would just go away.

"Mr. McMahon?" His secretary, Cathy Leeder, asked sticking her head into the office. "Is everything okay? You aren't answering your phone."

"No everything's not okay." Shane said opening his eyes and looking at his secretary. It was almost a week since Bad Blood and she was asking if everything was alright?"

She blushed. "I'm sorry." She said quickly.

"I'm sorry Cathy I'm just upset." Shane said. He picked up the phone, which had started ringing again.

"Shane McMahon." He answered.

"Shane it's your mother." Linda said. "How are you doing?" Shane didn't say anything right away. "I know you tried to help stop the match from happening."

"Yeah and no one listened to me." Shane said with a sigh. "I just..." He trailed off as his intercom beeped he ignored it.

"Shane go home." Linda advised. "I didn't even expect you at work today. You've just gotten back from Georgia."

"I'm trying to get the list of wrestlers who are leaving the company typed and sent to the lawyers and then I'm meeting with dad."

His intercom buzzed again.

"I need to go." Linda said. "Shane think about going home instead." She hung up.

Shane hit his intercom. "Yes?"

"Mr. Vince McMahon called while you were on the phone." Cathy answered.

Shane grabbed the paper he had been staring at since he entered the door and made a copy. He walked out of his office and handed her the original. "Please type this up and fax it to Gordon Chisum." He said naming the lawyer who was drafting up the release papers for all of the wrestlers who were leaving. The amount of wrestlers leaving was a lot more then who were staying.

He thought about what his mother said and said, "after that you may go home for the day. You will be paid for a full day."

"Thank you Mr. McMahon." She said with a smile.

Shane took the elevator up to the top floor of Titan Tower.

Vince's secretary, Morgan Mills, smiled at him and said, "go right in."

Shane walked in and saw Vince McMahon on the phone and Hunter and Stephanie sitting on the couch in Vince's office.

"About time." Hunter said.

Shane didn't say anything as he sat in the chair across from Vince's desk. He set the paper with the names down on Vince's desk.

Vince picked up the papers and stared at them before handing it to Stephanie.

Hunter looked at it over Stephanie's shoulder and then turned to Shane. "Is there anyone left?"

"Not much."

"Vince I think you better not let some of them go." Hunter said. "We won't have enough of a roster to do a PPV at this rate."

Vince looked to be contemplating it.

"Dad don't do that." Shane said quickly. "You promised to let them out. After Chris died..." He trailed off.

"We'll think of something Paul." Vince said. "How did the show go Monday?" Vince said changing the subject."

"No problems. Eddy pulled the show together well. Though I think everyone was wondering where you were."

"You know I couldn't make it." Vince said. "On RAW we will be starting the tournament for the world title."

"Already?" Shane asked in shock.

"Well I'll open the show with the announcement of the retirement of the world title." Vince quickly explained. "We'll start using the other title. I've already sent the belt to Nancy."

Shane looked at him wondering if he was crazy but didn't say anything.

"I'll win the title won't I?" Hunter asked.

"Of course."

Shane stood up and left the room.

Vince came out after him. "Shane where are you going?"

"Home. Mom was right. I shouldn't be here yet."

"Shane take some time off. I know this is hard for you."

"Marissa and I are going to Italy next week," Shane stated. "I'm going to see if I can leave earlier."

"You should." Vince agreed. "Take off as much time as you need."

"I will." Shane said and walked away.

He took his cellphone out and called his travel agency. "Deborah? It's Shane McMahon. Is there anyway we can leave the day after tomorrow?"

(((

Notes: We jump ahead a year or two next chapter.


	11. Business Propostion

Notes; This takes place 18 months after the previous chapter. Try not to get too confused.

Shane unlocked the door and held it open for Marissa. Then he pulled the suitcase he had been rolling, into the foyer. They had just returned from another trip to Japan. In the past few months, Shane had become interested in Mixed Martial Arts. It was a lot different then wrestling. He didn't have any interest in competing in it, but he did have an interest in investing in it. He was quite certain it would become popular in the United States. UFC certainly was popular.

Shane went over to the answering machine and hit play. There was a message from Rodney seeing if he and Marissa wanted to go to a Knicks game. There were a few telemarketer calls. The last message really caught his attention.

"Shane it's your father," Vince said. "Your mother informed me that you were on another trip to Japan. I have a business proposition you may be interested in. I know you'll be back on the 6th. If you could meet me at Titan the 7th, I'd appreciate it."

"I wonder what he wants," Marissa said coming back into the room after putting the suitcases in the bedroom.

"Probably wants me to do some angle." He took his PDA out of his carry on and flipped to December 7th. He had no plans for that day.

"If he asks you to come back, will you?"

"No," Shane answered. "But I am going to find out what he wants." After a self imposed exile, Vince should know he didn't want to come back.

* * *

Shane arrived at Titan Tower a little after 10:00 AM. He was still feeling jet lagged. He took the elevator to Vince's office. As he exited the elevator, he noticed a few people staring at him. He ignored them and continued down the hall to Vince's office.

He was greeted by Morgan Mills. "Hello Mr. McMahon. Go right in."

Shane entered the office and noticed Vince was on the phone.

"AJ I'm prepared to offer you a lot of money to come over to the WWF. Certainly a lot more money then what Carter and Jarrett are paying you. I'm interested in signing you, Samoa Joe, and Christopher Daniels. Think about it and call me." Vince said before hanging up. "Hello Shane," he greeted, "how was Japan?"

"It was great," Shane answered as he sat down in one of the chairs in front of Vince's desk. "Trying to sign up TNA wrestlers?"

"Yes. I have read the scouting reports for those three. They would be a great addition to the roster especially Daniels and Joe."

"Yeah," Shane agreed. "So what did you want to see me about?"

"This company really flourished ten years ago when we were competing with WCW and even ECW to an extent. Our ratings and buy rates have been decreasing in the past year and I think it's time to shake things up. TNA will never be real competition, so I have decided to restart WCW and I want you to run it."

"Me?" Shane asked in surprise. He figured Vince would ask Hunter or Stephanie.

"Yes Shane. I know you were unhappy with WWF, but I believe you will do well running your own company. I will not interfere with how you run it, but I will still own it."

Shane sat back and didn't say anything right away. He never really pictured himself running a wrestling company.

"I even have a time slot for the show. You will be on UPN Monday's at midnight eastern time. I apologize but that was the best I could get. Some cable companies were afraid to put a wrestling show on the same night as RAW. I have spoken to some wrestlers to see if they would be interested." He said holding up a piece of paper that had several names on it.

"I need to discuss this with Marissa. I'm still a bit shocked."

"Take all the time you need. I have not told UPN when we will start the show. I think at the beginning of the year would be the best time to start."

"Like I said, I really need to discuss this with Marissa first." He got up to leave. "I'll call you with my decision."

Shane left the office lost in thought. He had no idea what he was going to do. He never expected this to be the business proposition Vince wanted to talk to him about. Did he really want to run a wrestling company? He wasn't sure.

He was done with wrestling, wasn't he?


	12. It's Back

Notes: You might recognize an original character that's in His Father's Son in this story. Let's just say his wife never knew about this ;). There's a curse word in this fic but it seems in character for this guy.

Shane sat in the seats of Center Stage Theater in Atlanta Georgia watching the ring be put together. It was his first WCW show and he was already feeling the butterflies in his stomach. Had he been crazy to accept Vince's proposition? He wondered. What if he failed? He was a McMahon. He wasn't used to failing. He was always told that was one thing he couldn't do.

He looked around the empty arena. It was a smaller arena then he would have liked for the first WCW show but this arena was full of history.

"Yo Shane!" A voice yelled from the ring.

He looked up to see Page Falkenberg, aka Diamond Dallas Page, standing there. He was there to do commentary for the show. It would be a one night only commentary while Shane tried to find someone to be color commentator. He already had Jeff Katz hired to do play by play. Jeff Katz had been working in Hollywood trying to produce a movie. He also knew that Jeff Katz used to work for WCW on their hotline.

"Yeah?" He asked standing and then going over the guardrail to where the rest of the ring crew was.

"Did I hear right we are taping the show at eight but it doesn't show until Midnight on UPN?"

"Yeah." Shane said with a sigh. "Best my dad could get he said."

"Let me get this straight," Page said, "we are bringing back WCW in its home town in a building where WCW used to tape WCW Saturday Night and we are showing it at midnight? Who the heck is going to watch it on a Monday?"

"I know." Shane said with a frown. "Vince had this all lined up before he asked me if I would run WCW." He took a piece of paper out of his pocket. "The roster is sort of minimal at the moment."

Page took it from him. He snorted. "If I could be honest Shane O, this looks like a shitty roster."

"I'm working on it."

Page snorted. "Are you sure Vince wants WCW to succeed?"

"I hope so." Shane said taking the paper away. Page sat down next to him.

"I bet there are some former WWE wrestlers who would want to be in WCW. I'm talking about the ones who didn't make it to TNA like Kanyon. I could get in contact with Kanyon and Raven for you."

"That would be great. I've already been in contact with Stevie Richards, Christopher Daniels, Elix Skipper, and just about all the TNA wrestlers. Jarretts didn't care for that much."

"I bet."

"I'm kind of glad we are not at Philips Arena tonight. It would be kind of weird to be there after what happened in 2004. The Atlanta Journal Constitution wants to interview me about the show. Someone named Jason George is supposed to be by here in an hour or so."

"Cool. Hey Kim wanted me to let you know that if you want the Nitro Girls back she'd be happy to organize a group."

"I'll think about it." He looked at his watch. It was 3:00 now. Still five hours until the show. He had never been so nervous in his life.

Shane stood in the Gorilla position watching the Main Event end. It was Rhyno vs. Ernest 'The Cat' Miller. The crowd was hot tonight for the first Nitro. There was a good audience size even though the show had been advertised very last minute.

"Good show everyone." Dean Malenko said. He had managed to talk Dean into coming to at least do the first show.

"Thanks for doing the show Dean." Shane said pulling off the headset.

"No problem." Dean said with a slight smile before turning away.

"Hey Dean," Shane said stopping him. "Can you maybe get a hold of some of your friends and see if they are willing to work in WCW? Perry, Eddy, Chavo. Anyone else you might think of."

"I don't know about Eddy but I'll contact Perry and Chavo. Eddy's...Eddy's not in good shape if what I have heard is true. I'll see about contacting some others. I think this could work Shane and I'd be happy to stay on."

"Thanks." Shane's cellphone started to ring.

"Hello?" He asked.

"How did the show go?" Vince asked.

"Really well. I think if we get more wrestlers in we'll be okay. Are you sure this is the best time slot you could find?"

"Yes. UPN said it was their only available time slot. I'm sure the show will do fine ratings wise Shane. There is such a thing as a VCR."

Shane chuckled. "Right."

"Well I need to go. Let me know if you need anything." Vince said and hung up.

Shane took a peak out of the curtain and saw the fans start to leave.

Someone must have seen Shane because a chant of, "thank you Shane!" Started.

Shane grinned and waived and ducked back behind the curtain. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.


	13. A Major Purchase

Notes: This chapter is dedicated to my friend Q who passed away today.

Shane entered CNN with a feeling of trepidation. Was he crazy to do this? Could he really buy WCW out from his father?

The ratings and buy rates for the PPVs were going very well. His contract with UPN was up the next month and he knew he had to move fast.

He walked up to the receptionist and smiled. "I have an appointment with Ted Turner."

The receptionist looked up from her computer. "Your name?"

"Shane McMahon."

She looked down at her computer and then hit a button on her phone. "Shane McMahon's here to see you." She was silent for a moment before saying, "you can go right in. It's the office at the end of the hall."

"Thank you," Shane said before walking past her. He opened the door and went in.

Ted turner stood and held his hand out. "Hello Shane," he said.

Shane shook his hand and sat down. "Thank you for meeting with me Mr. Turner."

"It's my pleasure and please call me Ted. You said on the phone that you were planning to buy WCW from your father."

"That's right," Shane answered. "I have looked into how much it would cost to buy it and I do not have all of the money. I was hoping that you and I could be partners on the purchase."

Ted sat back in his desk chair deep in thought. Back in the 80s I purchased the NWA without knowing a thing about wrestling. People called me crazy for doing it, but I never regretted it. How much money do you need?"

Shane gave him the amount.

Ted was silent for a long time. "If I help you buy WCW, the show will need to be broadcast on my channels."

"I was hoping that you would say that," Shane said with a smile. The meeting was going better then he had ever hoped. "I have the financial information for the company," he said as he opened his briefcase. He handed him a folder.

Ted leafed through it before setting it on his desk. "I need to consult with a few people before I can make a decision. Tell you what, I will contact you before the end of the week."

Shane shook his hand. "Thank you Ted," Shane said before walking out of the office. All he could do now was wait.

* * *

Shane stood backstage at the Norfolk Scope waiting for Nitro to start. Dustin Runnels, who was his right hand man, stood in the back talking to Stevie Richards, Raven, and Ivory. He was half listening to them discuss the main event. It was two weeks before the next PPV and there were still plans to be made. Stevie would be winning the world title that night.

Shane's phone rang. He answered the phone with a "hello?"

"Hello Shane this is Ted," A voice answered.

It took Shane a few moments to realize it was Ted Turner. Shane walked away to find a quiet place to talk. "Hello Ted."

"I'm calling to let you know that I'd love to help you buy WCW from Vince. I would like to set up a meeting with you and your lawyers to iron out the details."

"Sounds good Ted," Shane said. "I'll have my lawyers give you a call," he said and then they hung up.

Shane couldn't help but smile as he returned to where Dustin, Stevie, Raven, and Ivory were still talking.

* * *

Shane walked into Titan Tower for the first time in several years. He was almost as nervous as he was when he entered CNN headquarters."

"Hello Mr. McMahon," Vince's receptionist greeted upon seeing him. "Mr. McMahon said to have you go right in."

"Thank you," Shane said. He and Bob Jenkins, who was one of his lawyers, walked down the hall and into Vince's office.

Vince was sitting at his desk. He looked very shocked when he saw that Shane was not alone. "Shane," he said standing up, "Mr. Jenkins please have a seat."

They did so.

"How can I help you?"

Bob opened a briefcase and pulled out a document and handed it to Vince.

Vince read it and then set it on his desk. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," Shane said, "I want to make WCW into the company that it once was. I feel the best way to do it is to take full control of the company."

Vince nodded in understanding. "I think it's a great idea, but Shane, you can do that without owning WCW."

"I know," Shane said, "but it's something I want to do."

Vince nodded a grim look on his face. "I will have my lawyers look into this and they will contact you.

Shane started to stand but Vince stopped him.

"Off the record Shane," Vince said, "I just want you to know how proud I am of you for doing this."

"Thanks dad," Shane said and then left.

* * *

Notes: I know that may seem off considering Vince in this AU but just remember Vince loves Shane and he could see this as another way to push Shane further out of his world of lies, murder, and deceit. Want to see a ruthless Vince? Wait till next chapter.


	14. Run Away

Shane stretched his arms over his head before looking back at the contract on his desk. It had been such a busy two years since he bought WCW that he was starting to tire. He was giving serious thought to letting Dustin take over the day-to-day operations of WCW. He and Marissa wanted to have children. He knew Dustin could handle it.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," he called.

His secretary, Lorraine Smith, came into the room. "This package just arrived," she said and set it on his desk.

"Thank you Lorraine," Shane said.

She left the room.

Shane picked up a letter opener and cut the box open. He found a VHS tape in a smaller box. He took it out and found that the tape was unlabeled and there was no note inside of the box. He went and inserted the tape into the VCR and hit play. He sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk and watched.

On the screen were his father and two other men that he did not recognize.

"Shane will be in Atlanta the rest of the week," Vince said, "so you should have no trouble finding him. I want this to look like an accident. In fact, make it look like a drunk driving accident."

Shane hit pause and then rewound it. He was sure he had heard that wrong. He re-watched it a few times before he was convinced that he was not mistaken.

Vince handed a slip of paper to one of the men. "This should cover your fee along with a bonus. I want you to make sure that Shane and Marissa are both in the car."

The video went black and then a message appeared on the screen. The message had a phone number with writing below it that said: We can help.

Shane picked up the phone with a shaking hand and dialed the number.

The phone rang twice before someone answered. "Hello?"

With a shaking voice Shane said, "I received a video."

"Shane?" The person asked. "This is Shane Douglas. Are you still at your office?"

"Yeah," Shane said shocked by the news that Shane Douglas was the person on the other end of the line.

"I need you to go home and pack what you can and someone will meet you at your home. All will be explained then." There was a click as Douglas hung up.

Shane stared at the receiver before putting it back on its cradle. He picked up the phone and dialed home. As soon as Marissa had picked up, he instructed her to start packing and that he would tell her what was going on when he got home.

Dustin walked into his office. "Are you finished with…" he stopped, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," Shane lied. "Dustin I have to leave for awhile and I don't know when I'll be back. I need you to take over the company."

"Me?" Dustin asked in surprise. 'What's going on Shane?"

"I have no idea," Shane said truthfully. "I'll call you when I do."

"Okay Shane,' he said still looking at him funny. "Good luck with whatever's going on," he said and walked out of the office.

Shane shut his computer down and turned off the lights. He walked up to his secretary and said, "Lorraine you can take the rest of the day off. You will be paid for a whole day of work."

"Thank you," she said.

Shane walked down the hall to the bank of elevators. He was afraid that this would be the last time that he'd ever be in this building.

* * *

When he arrived home, he found it in a state of disarray. "Marissa?" He called.

Marissa appeared at the top of the stairs. "I've packed as much as I can. What's going on Shane?"

Shane led her into the media room and inserted the tape. He hit rewind and then played the tape.

"Oh my God," Marissa exclaimed. "What is this Shane?"

"I don't know. I received the tape at my office. When I called the phone number, Shane Douglas answered."

"Shane Douglas?" Marissa repeated. "Are you sure that this is real? Shane your father would never do anything like this."

"I know Marissa but I don't know what else to do."

There was a knock on the door. Shane went to the door and looked through the peephole. His brow furrowed. "It's Eddy Guerrero," he said as he opened the door.

"Hi Shane. Hi Marissa," he greeted are you guys packed?"

'What is going on Eddy?" Shane asked. "There has to be a mistake. My dad would never do something like this."

Eddy snorted. "He's done worse." He said and then saw a look of anger in Shane's eyes. "Shane I've seen and heard too much and know that this tape is real. It was from a camera in Vince's office." He looked at his watch. "We really need to get going."

"You've been recording Vince's office?" Marissa asked.

"For a few years now," Eddy admitted. "I wish I could tell you none of this is true but it is."

Marissa and Shane exchanged looks before they went upstairs to get the boxes. They weren't sure what to do.

* * *

When they arrived at the airfield, they found Shane Douglas and Tammy Sytch waiting for them. Shane tried to remember the last time he'd seen either of them and realized it was at Chris Benoit's funeral.

A man stepped away from Tammy and walked up to them. "I'm Agent Michael Erichson," he said.

"Agent?" Shane asked in confusion. Nothing in this situation made any sense to him.

Several men came up and started loading the boxes into a small plane.

"I'll explain on the plane," Michael said. "It's a short flight but we should have plenty of time to talk." He said and then he, Tammy, and Douglas boarded the plane. After some hesitation, Shane and Marissa followed them onto the plane. Eddy was the last one to board.

"What is going on here?" Marissa demanded. "We saw the video but I still don't believe it."

"A few days ago we were alerted about this tape by someone we have planted in the WWE to keep tabs on Vince. This source has never been wrong."

Shane sat back and stared at him in disbelief. "My father would never do that."

"Shane," Eddy said as he buckled his seatbelt. "To be honest, we never thought Vince would do anything to you or Linda. It's possible that someone told Vince that you knew something. This person may have been wanting to get rid of you but it's hard to tell."

"Vince doesn't work alone," Douglas said. "Stephanie, Hunter, and Shawn have been helping for years. Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, and PJ Polaco have been known to help at times."

Marissa grasped Shane's hand. She couldn't believe anything she was hearing. They had visited with Vince and Linda the last time they were in Connecticut and nothing seemed to be awry.

"Where are we going?" Shane asked deciding to move past the stunning news for the time being.

"Kentucky," Douglas answered, "I have a cabin about two hours outside of Louisville."

Convenient, Shane thought as he remembered that Eddy owned Ohio Championship Wrestling, which was in Louisville.

"Michael and I live there," Tammy explained, "there are no neighbors for miles."

"So the five of us will be living in the cabin?" Marissa asked.

"Well I live in Pittsburgh," Douglas said, "and Eddy lives in Louisville."

Shane frowned again. He wasn't sure he liked this. He didn't know Tammy that well and he didn't know Michael at all.

"We'll have Agents box up the rest of your possessions. Just let us know if there is anything you need and we'll bring it," Michael said.

"What's Shane going to do about WCW?" Marissa asked.

"I've called Dustin and asked him to run the company for awhile."

Eddy smiled. "That was good thinking. We may be able to help you with WCW. Right now we need you to stay in hiding."

"Have you done this before?" Shane asked.

"You could say that," Eddy said with a glint in his eyes. He didn't say anything further.

* * *

Shane fell asleep during the drive to the cabin and had to be shaken awake by Marissa. He got out of Eddy's car and noticed they were indeed in the middle of nowhere. He started taking boxes into the cabin.

"Just set them on the floor until we have everything sorted out," Michael called.

Shane set the boxes down. He was about to go outside when something caught his attention or rather someone.

"Hey Shane," Chris Benoit said as he came into the room, "do you guys need any…"

That was the last thing Shane heard before everything turned black.


End file.
